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Wallis
a roller of 1896 HO 6139 at Rushden Transport Cavalcade show 2008]] at Rushden show 2008]] Wallis & Steevens of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England produced agricultural equipment, traction engines and steam and diesel road rollers. History The company was founded in 1856 by Arthur Wallis and Charles Haslam in newly-built premises that they named The North Hants Ironworks. The works were sited on Station Hill in Basingstoke and the company began trading as Wallis & Haslam. Shortly afterwards the company were highly commended for their hand worked bench drilling machine at the 1857 Royal Agricultural show in Salisbury, United Kingdom. Even at this early stage, the company were producing a wide variety of agricultural equipment, and alongside the bench drill were corn drills, turnip drills, four types of horse hoe, drag harrows, a 3 hp threshing machine, a barley hummeller and sundry other devices. In 1862, a third partner, Charles James Steevens joined the company and when Charles Haslam retired in 1869, the company became Wallis & Steevens. The date of production for the companies first Portable steam engine is not known although the earliest surviving drawing is dated 1866. The first traction engine, an 8 hp single was built in 1877 from drawings by Arthur Herbert Wallis (son of the company founder) and this vehicle made its trial run on the 21st of June that year. The vehicle was named "Success" on the strength of its performance during the test and given the works number T250. An unusual feature of some small rollers by the company is the use of an inclined boiler. One engine with this feature being called Pepper Pot, another being Christopher SN8032 of 1932 'CG 571' Manufacture of steam vehicles gradually gave way to petrol from the 1930s and production continued at the Station Hill premises until its enforced closure with the redevelopment of Basingstoke town centre during 1966 and 1967. Production then transferred to a site at Daneshill where the company enjoyed a brief resurgence before the general trading recession of 1980-81. In May 1981, agreement was reached with B.S.P International Foundations Ltd of Ipswich to "take over the designs and copyrights of the current production models, together with spares, components and goodwill and for the business to be transferred to the BSP works at Claydon." The transfer was completed by July 1981 and at that point Wallis & Steevens ceased to trade.cite book |last=Whitehead|first=R.A.|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Wallis & Steevens, A History|year=1983 |publisher= The Road Locomotive Society|location= Farnham|isbn=0-95084-80-0 Model Time Line at Rushden show 2008]] * 1840 - Firm founded as R Wallis & Son, Carriers & Merchants. * 1850 - Firm become brass 7 Ion founders and Agricultural Implement makers * 1856 - Become agents to sell Portable stem engines, & start to manufacture threshing drums. * 1861 - Charles Steevens Joins firm, now Selling Clayton & Shuttleworth engines. * 1867 - Demonstrate own design of portable engines (4 & 8 hp)at Royal show. * 1874 - win Bronze medal for portable engine in Vienna * 1880 - Building engines for generators * 1882 - First Traction engine built of 7 hp. * 1890 - First Convertible roller, a 6 hp model built. * 1893 - Become Limited company * 1895 - First "Road Locomotive" sold * 1898 - Showmans Engine built. * 1906 - Steam wagons built. * 1907 - Foden sue for patent infringement and lose. * 1911 - 3 ton rubber tyred lorry launched * 1914-18 - War reduces production as staff called up/join up * 1920s - Recession cause wage cuts * 1923 - Launch "Advanced" steam roller designs * 1924 - Last 5 ton steam lorries made, as competitor from diesel engines take over. * 1924 - "Simplicity" steam rollers still selling for export. * 1929 - Introduce welding for manufacturing. * 1930 - concentrate on Steam Rollers after first Diesel one only sold at cost * 1930 - Last Wallis & Steevens Traction Engine built, given the works number 8052 (now in preservation as East Lothian Star) * 1930 - 2 Ton petrol roller introduced after successful trial * 1931-33 - Recession - firm losing money and lay off staff * 1944 - "Universal" range introduced * 1955 - Choice of engines offered * 1957 - Cabs introduced (Enclosed) * 1959 - Power steering added to range. * 1966 - Move to new Danes hill factory, then old Station Hill works demolished in 1967. * 1974 - Marshall go bust, Wallis picks up orders * 1981 - Design rights transferred to BSP International of Ipswich. * 1981 - Wallis & Steevens cease trading. Diesel rollers The Advance name was crried over from the steam line to the IC engined rollers built by Wallis and Steevens. In 2014 another very rare survivor a red 1935 Wallis & Steevenson Type-B model Diesel 4 Ton Roadroller was carefully restored at the Pallot Steam Museum at Trinity in Jersey after it served as roadworks maintenance machine for the St Peter Village, a Parish on the island. It was bought new in 1935 by the States Of Jersey and was heavily used during WW2 to make new roads but it ended being abandoned in a shed. Samuel Pallot a local mechanical engineer and vehicle collector found it and brought it to his museum at Trinity for a major restoration project and took his team over 3 years of dedicated work on it. This machine resides now at in his musem ever since then and its in like new condition the pictures above are of the same red roadroller. Preservation Several Wallis & Steevens vehicles can be seen at the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke *Wallis & Steevens Advanced 8ton 'OU 4737' of 1930 at Rushden show 2008 *Wallis & Steevens Tractor 'BJ 8765' of 1928 s/n at Rushden show 2008 *Wallis & Steevens Roller 'CG 571' "Christopher" s/n8032 of 1932 *Wallis & Steevens Advance Diesel Roadroller Type-B 4 ton model of 1935 at the Pallot Steam Museum at Trinity village Jersey UK in 2017. Steam engines & rollers Please add any known machine details to the Table below. Diesel rollers Please list any known examples of the diesel rollers below; * Diesel roller Photo on the Flickr site - Roller with interesting cab (Also loads of other great photos in the 'Homer----Simpson's photostream'. References External links *Steamrallyphotos web site * A timeline of the companies history Category:Agricultural machinery Category:Companies of the United Kingdom Category:Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Category:Construction plant manufacturers Category:Road roller manufacturers Category:Steam rollers Category:Steam tractors Category:Steam engines Category:Steam Category:Companies founded in 1857 Category:1981 disestablishments